Tempered Joy

Hey, my dear, dear Sisters! I had the biggest blast with the Siestas who made the trek to San Antonio and missed the rest of you so much. I’m back from a real, live vacation and pecking away at my computer in my office. Star’s right here at my feet. It’s Labor Day so my beloved staff members are with their families just as they should be. Since I really did take the week off (I usually cheat and still throw work into it somehow but refrained this time), I really needed the day to get a jump on the load I knew would be waiting tomorrow.

I’d have lots of silly things to tell you but my frame of mind is seriously tempered by Gustav. Having lived in Houston for 35 years, I, like anybody half-awake on the Gulf Coast, am highly alert to the constant wave of threats written across the sky from August through October. We find ourselves in a terrible quandary, asking God to cause the storms to bypass our areas but sick at heart to imagine them hitting another. None of us want to lose our homes but none of us want to see others lose theirs either. Of all people on the planet we want spared, surely its the population of New Orleans. Oh, Jesus, especially the poor. And, Lord, our dear Franklin Avenue Baptist and other faithful fellowships like it that have only recently reopened their doors. Have mercy! My heart has been in my throat for the areas devastated by Katrina, many of which have yet to be rebuilt. Let’s give highest praise to God that He sucked some of the air and water right out of Gustav’s angry lungs. This morning in my quiet time I reminded our gracious Father of His powerful words to us in James 5:16b-18. “The prayer of the righteous man is powerful and effective. Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops.” Elijah, a man with “like passions as we” prayed a change over the weather. THE WEATHER. And God heard him and said yes. That ought to give us some courage to pray like the same thing could happen today.

Keith and I have been in the wonderful middle of nowhere for a solid week on our cactus land at the edge of the Texas hillcountry. No cell phones. No internet. Just him and me and our two new baby girls, Star and Geli. The most exciting things we had going were watching God paint sunrises and sunsets, cooking on the Old Smokey, dodging rattle snakes, and taking rides on our rigged-for-dirt-roads golf cart with the dogs to admire the wildlife. I read the new Jan Karon novel (I think the name is “Home to Holly Springs”) from cover to cover and LOVED IT. Yes, I’ve read all the Mitford books and am so sad when one ends and another is not out yet. She is one of my favorite all time fiction authors. I want to be her BFF.

On the way home Saturday afternoon, however, we saw the eeriest sight. Keith was asleep at the time and yours truly was driving his big ole blue Ford truck. I even went the speed limit. (Believe it or not, I’m a slow driver. The leading cause of road rage in America, you might recall.) We were going east on Interstate 10 and right around the Luling exit I came over a hill and saw 200+ yellow school buses from Dallas, empty except for the drivers, in the left hand lane traveling lickety-split in a caravan our same direction. A police car led the pack and another had its back. We’d seen several Red Cross emergency vehicles already on our way home but this sight beat all. We knew those school buses were heading either to Houston or New Orleans (it was still up in the air – no pun intended – at that time) for emergency evacuations. I told Keith to wake his hind up and look at a sight he might live the rest of his life and never see again. It was so freaky. And to be one of very few vehicles heading their direction while traffic packed the west-bound lanes was sobering. There was no turning back, though, because Curtis, Amanda, Jackson, and our little Avocado were in Houston and I was going to be where they were or bust. Turned out our fair but hot city would be just to the west of Gustav’s fiercest breath. Far better than that, it appeared that New Orleans might not be hit as hard as they were three years ago. Oh, Lord, be her levee.

Anyway, I’ve looked so forward to saying hello but feel like it’s just not the day to be silly. And, oh, could I have been silly. After all, I’ve been perched on a porch for a week watching my man move the earth all over heck’s half acre on his green tractor. About the time I decided to venture out on my own and go for a walk, he popped the clutch and hollered, “Lizabeth, did you bring your snake boots?” Where am I? But I’ll just have to save that for another time.

I love you. Gulf Coast girls in particular, let us know how you’re fairing through the weather. We are on our knees for you.

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200 Responses to “Tempered Joy”

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Oh sweet Beth, you just don’t know how many times I prayed to God to spare Houston, thinking of your sweet family. Every time I saw that Gustav was losing some strength and showing some mercy on NOLA and Houston, peace invaded my soul.

So glad to know you’re home and everyone is safe. I’m praying with you for the Lord to be their levee.

Y’all are in my prayers! I have to tell y’all, I was listening to KLOVE this morning and Chris Tomlin was on. He told the story behind ‘God of this City’ and I was in tears before I ever got to work. I feel like this song- although was for Thailand, can be applied to all of our cities- New Orleans, Houston, OKC, San Antonio- for NUMEROUS reasons. I just want to let y’all know, there is plenty God still has yet to do in all of our cities! The links are below. On KLOVE you can listen and the story is right at the 20 minute mark. The other link is written:

I do pray for those on the gulf coast – even more storms might be headed there way. Also, I would like to pray for Sarah Palin and her family (esp. her daughter) as the media is trying to tear her to shreds. I’m reminded of Psalm 62:“How long will you assault a man? Would all of you throw him downâ€” this leaning wall, this tottering fence? They fully intend to topple him from his lofty place; they take delight in lies. With their mouths they bless,but in their hearts they curse. Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from him.”(Psalm 62:3-5) May she and her family find strength in God and stand firm during these ugly attacks. We need to all pray for our country – Kerin

Oh, boy, I just love reading yr words… I'm doing Stepping Up in my ladies' cell group, and Believing God on my own (put it on hold until Stepping Up is done, my optimism was taken over by realism re: homework). I love your bible studies, and hope that God keeps inspiring you to put more & more out there.Love & hugsKerry (a siesta-wannabee in South Africa!)

Beth, I am so glad that you are reminding God of His words again…like He would forget! Glad your vaca was great. Who would go on a trip without their snake boots anyway? What were you thinking? Have a blessed week…Hiker-Mama

We have watched the nation rally their prayers around the Gulf Coast regions and are praising God he has kept Gustav from mass destruction. We continue praying as we watch two more storms form off the coast.

Snake Boots – have a couple pair of those in my closet. In fact they outnumber the church shoes I have. I told my dearest he could get me a gift certificate to the mall this year so I can buy some decent shoes.

You might think of getting some guinea fowl for those snakes. They have all but eliminated our rattlesnake problem on our homestead. Marvelous birds I tell ya!

Take Care and we will be praying for all the coastal regions in danger over the next two months.

One more thing – Our group finished the NOG’s study but not before you closed comments on the last posting. FABULOUS study!!! I highly recommend it. We are now onto studying Romans via your 30 minute lessons on the main site.

Welcome back!:) Hope your first day back yesterday was good! I am so glad that God calmed that storm down, but I did see that the coast and you all have got some rain. I was thinking, It has to be the prayers of the siestas! But, I’m sure, others across the country were praying too:)..Don’t think I’ve ever read anything from her-I should add her to my list:)…You and Precious Man Keith are the cutest! Ya’ll are inspiring:)…Bwahaha, Avocado!:)…Snake boots, wow, I hate snakes! There was one in my mother-in-law’s house once. We were sitting in the living area, going over I believe it was either your Daniel or Patriarchs study (i think it was Daniel:), and I glanced up and thought it was a toy of my nephews, and then it moved. We were horrified-it was the poisonous kind! Then Mimi (my MIL) took a garden rake and just went to town on it! She hates those things as much as I do! Anyway, random, long story. I’d better stop posting now:)

Beth,I’m so glad you had a restful vacation with your husband and dogs. As a florida girl most of my life, hurricanes are a part of life. I too was praying for those in the path because it sometimes seems to much to bear. I loved your statement about God be there levee. One of my pastors emailed this amazing song this summer about Gods love by Kim Walker. Its called How He Loves, it speaks of hurricanes and winds of mercy. It lives on my ipod. May God give hope and strength to all those affected and courage to move forward. Thanks for all you do for the kingdom of God.

Beth,I’m an Arizona girl and have lived all over this nation and currently live in SC. I’ve been fortunate to see you, learn from you and worship with you in several states. Most recently, I got to got to Jacksonville in the Spring and Atlanta in June among several other places over the years. (bear with me, I have a point…)

My mom and her best friend, Joyce are going to Deeper Still this weekend in Vegas and I won’t get to join them this time. These two women have been my earliest and two of my strongest spiritual influences. Joyce just burried her husband last week in Phoenix after a long battle with brain cancer. My mom is an amazing godly pillar of a woman who ministers in so many ways through her business to people who need a second chance. These women are the real deal, both of them. If you get this, maybe you could give these two lovely ladies from AZ, a shout out in Vegas. They both love you dearly. You’d love them if you knew them, I’m sure of it.

Welcome Home Mama Beth! Glad you and Keith had the opportunity to “get away” for a real vacation. And no work…..WOW!I am late in reading the blog, but am Praising God for Gustav losing some of his power before going ashore at New Orleans…..We are starting up our fall Bible Study next Tues, the 9th. We are going to be doing “Heaven” by Randy Alcorn and then I think we will do a new study by one of your recommended teachers, Marian Kassens. She has a new study out about Knowing God By Name….sounds awesome. Of course in January 2009 we will be doing “Esther”. Can hardly wait, sure hope Lifeway has a HUGE supply of that study.Have a blessed week LMP staff!!Bible Bunny in No MI

Well, this Mississippi Gulf Coast Girl thanks y’all for your prayers. While Gustav gave my household a glancing blow there were many other here that went without power and many who experienced flooding. My heart goes out to those in the Southern regions of Louisiana who were hit so hard. Praise be to God, I saw a long caravan of bucket trucks from electric companies on Interstate 10heading west,…must have been 200 hundred of them! So, help is on the way! We are lifting y’all up in our prayers.

So glad you had a great vacation! I was praying for you. San Antonio and the fiesta were wonderful! And I just want to say that you are an incredible teacher/speaker! (no matter how your notes look) And I should know I teach public speaking.

Glad everyone in the path of Gustav is o.k.

We are bracing for the effects from Hannah here in North Carolina.

Prayer request: Could you pray for my husband who is on a mission trip to Asia? Thank you!

Thank Ya Jesus! I live on the Mississippi Gulf Coast and let me tell you, it got a little hairy over my way! We were on the east side of the storm, which tends to be the worst. There were tornado warnings all over the place. But, all in all, we faired very well. Trees and limbs were down everywhere, and we had some storm surge flooding. To my knowledge, we only had one fatality…and it was due to a motorist driving during the storm, but did not make it to where he/she was going. So sad.

But the weather we received was NOTHING like Louisiana received. After all the damage Katrina did to the Mississippi Gulf Coast and New Orleans, I’m glad that Gustav didn’t directly hit us. We are still recovering. People are still living in FEMA trailers and MEMA cottages. There were even a few MEMA cottages floating around in the flood waters. All caught on tape by the media who were braving the weather to report what was happening. For me, I wouldn’t be out in the middle of a storm for any pretty penny that may be offered!

I AM ON MY KNEE’S FOR ALL THE SIESTA’S WHO HAVE STORMS IN THEIR LIVES!!The new fashion is wearing rubber boots, cute rain hats and drinking a Starbucks with extra foam! 🙂In my heart I plan my course, but YOU determine my steps. (Proverbs 16:9)

I am so glad you and Keith were able to have a much needed vacation, and to have so much fun. My man and the other boys opened up dove season near Gatesville, Texas. My mom and I just did girl stuff. So thankful Gustav wasn’t worse than it was, and now for the next storms to follow. That will be our next big prayer. I also think with all the “politics” going on, we need to keep all of them in our prayers, for they will be leading our country, and right now, God is the only answer I know. What a wonderful time in San Antonio and how blessed we all were, and what fun afterwards. Love those pictures. Phyllis

I was on the other side of the storm from you. In Jackson County, Mississippi (that is East of Gulfport and west of Mobile, Al). We are right off the MS/AL line. Not to be confused with Jackson, MS our fair state capital, which is mid-state. I’m right off the Gulf in the most Southeast corner of Mississippi.

Anyway, I agree, and most I have talked to, with your sentiment that we hope and pray it won’t hit us when a storm is mentioned, but we don’t want anyone else to get hurt either.

I think it is a great testament to God how the Wednesday before it hit Jamaica…Gustav was making a hurried B-line straight for the Gulf, then we all had Wednesday night services (which in my church of First Baptist of Moss Point, is a huge prayer meeting with a devotion to-boot). Then by Thursday morning it had done an almost about face with a left hook, then went South not North of Jamaica. And like you said God suck the oomph right out of it.

We serve an Awesome God, Ladies. My fear of Him is also my strength to boldly obey.

I was looking at my blog rettathinks.blogspot.com and realized that in my post for today, “Daniel”, are some great points that are relevant to all that has happened with Gustav….Here is an excerpt…

What I get from Daniel isâ€¦1. God is in control! Even when others donâ€™t believe in Him.2. God is Almighty! We just need to trust and obey no matter the apparent outcome.3. God gets the glory! In Daniel there are great passages of praise and worship to the Lord…Here are a few:

â€ 2:20-2320 Daniel said,“Let the name of God be blessed forever and ever,For wisdom and power belong to Him. 21 “It is He who changes the times and the epochs;He removes kings and establishes kings;He gives wisdom to wise menAnd knowledge to men of understanding. 22 “It is He who reveals the profound and hidden things;He knows what is in the darkness,And the light dwells with Him. 23 “To You, O God of my fathers, I give thanks and praise,For You have given me wisdom and power;Even now You have made known to me what we requested of You,For You have made known to us the king’s matter.”

â€ 4:33 “How great are His signsAnd how mighty are His wonders!His kingdom is an everlasting kingdomAnd His dominion is from generation to generation.

As a New Orleanian (yes, we call ourselves that), thank you for all of your prayers. We are so thankful that God placed His mighty hand on those levees and held them strong. I know that I surely said some extra prayers for Franklin Avenue BC and am thankful it is okay. My family and I evacuated to South Carolina (where we have family), but are very anxious to return home. Please continue to pray for all of those that Gustav effected and pray for those that Hanna may effect. I can’t wait until you all are in my city in November! I’m ready to break free!

I am afraid this has nothing to do with your blog but just wanted to say I am having a rough day…week…month and I recently start Beloved Disciple on my own. Today, I sat down to watch the Lesson 2 video that speaks about how John felt in the garden and difficult times in our lives. I needed to hear that the darkness may be caused by Him holding me tight. Thank you for the words the Word used to remind me to hold on.

My first time to be back to the blog since before gustav….we here in south Ms did just fine! We are about 80 or so miles from New Orleans I think? Just over the Ms border at the toe of the boot. We got a call from a friend and ministry partner in New Orleans Sat. night about 10:00pm saying they were on thier way! They arrived safely around 12:30am and rode out the hurricane with us. We praise Jesus for a minimal storm and for electricity! Our friends were able to leave this morning, but not sure if they will have power at thier home. The wife, Cynthia is afraid of dogs so we prayed for her while she was on her way. ( we have 7 and they were all in the house during the storm )There was no problem, they loved her and she even played with them and fed them peanut mm’s when I wasnt looking. I will have some pictures on my blog later today I hope but as my son reminded me as I was standing on the porch snapping pictures, you cant see wind. Thank you for your prayers

I was in New Orleans doing an event that weekend Katrina was coming. The event only lasted for part of the day…I do not think I stayed there 24 hours. We exited with the first day of evacuation on the Contra Flow…it was so numbing. We were in continuous conversation with the Lord in our car…not even knowing what the days ahead were going to bring.

We sort of re-lived it again as we drove out of town on Saturday morning from San Antonio to Oklahoma – like you we saw caravans of help coming to the area – there were so many big buses(not school buses)!

I read your post about tempered joy. Thinking about how the human spirit perseveres. Just through what my own human eyes have seen on a personal level during my lifetime & through technology seeing what is going on in the world in which we live. There are events that have happened during my lifetime both personally & in the world in which we live that after they have happened, I thought I will never feel joy again. From the depths of that pain, my soul longed for the peace that only comes from having Jesus Christ as Savior in my life. I feel that I now sometimes take God, God's Word, and Jesus for granted. That I don't witness enough about God, God's Word, and Jesus. That I want the easy way out. That I don't want to sacrifice anything in life for my relationship with Jesus, God, and applying God's Word in my life. These are some truths in my own life that I am coming to terms with right now.

Welcome Home Beth, I am so glad to hear that you had a refreshing vacation with your Supperman in God's country… by the way, is the John Deere like his Bat-mobile? 😀 hahaha! Supperman in the John Deere! That's an Awesome visual!

So thankful Gustav wasn't as bad as they thought.. PHEW! Praying for all you Gulf Coast Siesta's!

Beth it was such a joy & honor to meet you (& hug your neck) and your daughters in SA. We had a great time! And your message…AWESOME! Thank you!

OK Beth! I have a question for you…do you ever get tired and poop out? I do this on a daily basis, but you seem to keep going no matter what! I guess you do coffee and this is the answer…I am not a coffee fan nor a caffeine fan! Maybe there is no chance for me to have the energy you have.

I believe in praying for the weather, too. I live in “Wizard of Oz” territory (Kansas) and earlier this year there was a large tornado headed right for Greensburg, KS which had been all but wiped off the map last year. I think many of us sat glued to our televisions/radios and we prayed that sucker around Greensburg and away from other populated areas. I’m praising with you and others that Gustav was not worse, can’t imagine if it had been!

Praise God, Beth, that you and your family are all safe as we continue to pray for those suffering the effects of Gustav, and asking Our Great and Awesome God to quiet the storms of Hannah and Ike. He's still answering our prayers as you reminded us. Much love to you, your family, staff, Travis & Praise Team.

I caught how YOU remind the Lord…that was funny, I do that all the time. It tickles me to think of how HE reminds us of His promises and we have to remind others of theirs. To our parents “remember you said we would…” to our spouse, “you promised to fix the …” too funny. Then God says to us, “Remember I will Never….” wow! My family is in Baton Rouge with babies and all no power no jobs. Thank you for your prayers.Rachele

So glad that God is the God of the storms. Isn’t He gracious and loving? Praise Him for His protection!

Beth-I’m so proud of you. Last summer I did a REAL vacation for 7 days without work (ok…1, but only 1 phone call)…It was awesome. So glad you did that for you and Keith.You both deserved it.

Oh, and do I have any other fellow “country” Siestas who giggled when reading the comment about not knowing what snake boots were! Too cute. I want to be THAT girlie, but alas…it’s not to be!Just another example of how a diverse group with one Savior can come together and enjoy fellowship!

I always love to check in here and see what God is doing…so glad the Seista Fiesta was so wonderful. I know I am far away, but checking this blog and reading the comments surely helps me keep in touch with what God is doing in the U.S.We’d appreciate prayers here in Thailand, too–there is a lot of political unrest resulting in protests, strikes and confusion. Please pray for peace. Thank you,A siesta in a far land,Sheila

Beth,My family and I are fine. I live 2 hours north of Lafayette, La. and we had some wind damage. Lost 2 sheets of tin off our horse barn and a couple of trees on the fence, but Praise God that was it. My husband works on an oil rig in the gulf and as we drove him to Intercostal city yesterday morning alot of people were not so fortunate. We saw several homes with water in them.The saddest thing to me were the homes that are abandoned after Rita, beautiful Plantation style homes just sitting there empty.It made me all the more thankful.Thanks again for all you prayed for the storm. But keep praying we have more on the way.In Christ,Cassie

“Oh, Lord, be her levee”—- mama beth, this gave me chills. over the last few days i watched the weather channel almost constantly, and had to laugh with joy whenever gustav went from a category 3 down to a 2, down to a 1, and finally to a tropical depression. it was like watching God reply to our prayers.

my bff, hannah, is coming to houston to visit me for the first time ever! she’ll be here in 2 hours- i’m so thankful gustav didn’t cancel her trip! it’s a small thing compared to the destruction he could’ve caused, but i’m praising Him for it anyway:).

I’m a southern girl and just can’t seem to call you by just your first name… it’s just not proper enough for me.

Anyways… I know we all prayed for a restful time for you. It sounds as though it was.

Unfortunately, hurricane season seems to be strong, so strong right now. We’re going to be on our knees a lot over the next week or two. It looks like planes on approach to DFW airport with one storm lined up right after another.

I also wanted to say that I have been noticing and marking (in green pencil mind you – green for land/property) every time I notice the word inherit in my daily readings. Psalm 37 – 4 TIMES! And I read that last week right after the conference. Oh, God is SO good.

I wanted to share with you-MY HEART IS FULL TONIGHT!:) The Lord has been impressing these thoughts in my mind now and it is so freeing, so I wanted to share with you: We are new creations. We are not that person we used to be. We are dead to sin. How can we live in it any longer? We can choose life for the rest of our days, knowing that He is able to keep us from stumbling (Jude 24,25:)! Is that not the most freeing thought ever!!! I am not that person I used to be. I do not have to be that person! I could cry. This is GOOD, Spiritual Mom Beth! PRAISE THE LORD! God is for us, not against us:)

If you want to read the most romatic christian novel, it is Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers!! It is based on the book of Hosea. I have to tell you that I slept with it clutched to my chest after I finished it. Awesome!!!

Well after not having lights for three days and staying at my parents home across the lake for six days with seven kids six yappy dogs . I lost it before the lights came on and cried my eyeballs out. I hate these storms and now Ladies we are looking at Ike.

I just wanted to Praise God and all the Sisters and others who prayed for this storm went from a 4 to a 2 and by the grace of God no levee failures . I was so grateful just to go home and see my home. I’m married to a Deputy and they are working 12 hours . for over a week now shifts till the danger is over with and they find out the path Ike is going to take.

Also please pray that people will have patience . Went to the store to stock up cause we lost everythign in our freezer. Lucky to grab a few things and not get my basket stolen. Can you beleive it they were stealing your basket with stuff in it. I have friends in Baton Rouge Her hubby is also a leo. They attacked the bunny bread man and he had to get stitches and stole his truck and fights they had in winn dixie.

We left Louisiana when we were told the storm was headed our way. We were lucky that we just had high winds and rain but no real damage. I am sure I was a sight to see traveling with 4 young boys and 7 Border Collies. All I needed was a rocker on the top of my big 4×4 lifted up Chevy and it would have been even better. Thankfully I have a wonderful mother who drove 9 hours from Texas to help me pack up the boys and the dogs and load her pickup with stuff too. After the hurricane my mother even drove back with me to help me unpack and get everybody settled in.

Hopefully we will not need to be packing up and traveling like that again.

Oh Beth, your post brought stinging tears to my eyes. I live in Slidell, LA and my house was destroyed by Katrina 3 yrs ago. The pain is still very fresh at times. We evacuated near Birmingham, AL for Gustav. On Sunday night, at the condo, I was in tears, praying but believing my house would be gone the next day. That me, my husband and 3 kids would not have a home. Praise God – your prayers (and the prayers of 1000’s worked), and we were all spared from the worst case senario. I love you Beth!

I know this is a late comment for this post but we’ve been out of commission here in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Thank God NOLA didn’t get the big hit, it couldn’t take it, but BR did. The wind from Gustav blew so many trees down by the roots, a sight I’ll never get used of seeing. So many houses in and around BR with trees down right in the middle of them. Roofs blown off, no electricity. Some areas without power for what will be four to six weeks. It is the biggest mess. And now another threat with Ike. Please pray for all of us down here. Thank you, Karen

Well, I assume you do not read all your comments (206!!), but will write my brief thoughts anyway.

Very thankful for your words and your thoughts, Beth. For me and the work we are doing in our corner of the world, I feel as if we are in a bit of a famine. It is hard and I wonder if it will always be “wilderness” here.

Because of this I think we not dining on beautiful, brown, fresh baked bread, but rather the simple manna from heaven. I don’t think I am getting fat on the “bread”, but His manna is surely sustaining me during our struggles.

Wish I could expound as cyberspace seems to be a good place to do it but cannot for security reasons. But thanks for your words of blessing and thanks for your Bible studies. Currently doing “Believing God” all the way here in India :).

Dearest Beth:I love you so much sweet Siesta!!We just are finishing up Living Free and I loved it. It is the first time my sister has ever done one of your studies and she loved it!! You are a gifted, amazing Bible teacher and writer and I am so thankful that I continue to grow in my walk with our AWESOME God through your studies!! Thank you! I can’t wait to do Esther!! I am so glad that you are all safe, we are praying and I am so glad you had a blast with Keith and your new puppies!! Take care!

What’s a Siesta?

Isn't "siesta" the Spanish word for nap? Yes! Then why are our LPM blog readers called siestas? One time Beth typed out the word "sistas," referring to our blog readers, and her spell checker wanted her to change it to "siestas." The name stuck! You can read about it here. If you read this blog, consider yourself a siesta! It's just another word for sister.